BRAVES REACH PLAYOFFS
MAKING HISTORY
Reedsport tops Myrtle Point, B1
First woman to do this job, A7
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2013
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Shutdown handicaps outdoor enthusiasts BY THOMAS MORIARTY The World
COOS BAY — Southwestern Oregon’s resident congressman says the government shutdown is leaving recreation-based economies high and dry in the middle of hunting season. According to Rep. Peter DeFazio, DSpringfield, the $135 million spent annually by Oregon hunters and fishermen is too high a cost to pay. “This shutdown is bad for outdoor enthusiasts, it’s bad for communities on the Oregon Coast that need this economic activity and it’s bad for business,” DeFazio said. In session last week, the congressman told House colleagues that hunters in his district were already being impacted by the shutdown. DeFazio said blacktail deer hunters have been turned away from the popular William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge near Corvallis, and pointed to Bandon Marsh as a site that will be impacted in the near future. Duck season in Zone 1 — the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife regulatory area that covers the Oregon coast — is scheduled to open Oct. 12. Traditionally, duck hunting on the refuge’s 256-acre main unit has been allowed seven days a week. “Right now, the only thing it’s open to is swarms of mosquitoes,” DeFazio said. Arlene Holmes, membership coordinator for the Oregon Hunter Association, said the organization hasn’t kept track of the federal lands closed off to hunters since the shutdown. “I did have a person call last week asking whether the gate at such and such place would be open, but it’s not like they send out that information,” Holmes said. Although most national forest lands remain open to hunting, the closure of campgrounds means sportsmen choosing to hunt on them may need to find a hotel. On the South Coast, recreation sites in both the Rogue-Siskiyou and Siuslaw national forests have been shuttered under the federal shutdown. Firearm hunting season for blacktail deer will remain open through Nov. 1 in most parts of the Oregon coast. The first rifle season for coast elk is scheduled to open Nov. 9. Reporter Thomas Moriarty can be reached at 541-269-1222, ext. 240, or by email at thomas.moriarty@thewordllink.com.
By Lou Sennick, The World
Jeff Philley, principal at Coquille High School leads a group of interested and concerned parents on a tour of the school building and what they could expect for their seventh- and eighth-graders if they are moved to the building.
Coquille schools face reality of declining enrollment BY CHELSEA DAVIS The World
“We’re at a situation where
COQUILLE — As enrollment continues to fall, Coquille school officials rallied parents again to explain their vision of a combined junior-senior high school. Parents walked the halls of Coquille High School Monday night while school officials explained how seventh- and eighth-graders could be worked into the fold next year. Currently, there are 253 students at the high school, which was built to hold 650. Next school year, that’s projected to increase to 272 students, said Superintendent Tim Sweeney. But after that, the numbers will likely fall, he said. By the 2018-2019 school year, the high school is projected to house only 196 to 213 students. “We’re at a situation where we don’t have the student population to maintain the buildings in our district in the future,” he said. At this time last year, the district was made up of more than 900 students. Today, that has dropped to 872, which equates to about an $180,000 drop in funding.
we don’t have the student population to maintain the buildings in our district in the future.” Tim Sweeney, Coquille Superintendent
“As long as the mill stays, we believe we’re going to have low classes in the 45s and high classes in the 61s,” he said. “And you’re seeing this across the region: in Bandon, in Myrtle Point, in Reedsport. “But I’m the lemons, the bad news. (Coquille High Principal Jeff Philley’s) job, his task, is to turn this into lemonade.” Philley said when he attended Coquille High, he didn’t have time in his schedule to take every class available. Today, he struggles to fill students’ schedules by their junior and senior years. “I’m sad to tell you and a little embarrassed right now, that we don’t have enough classes for students at the high
school,” he said. “By the time they’re juniors, they have almost everything checked except government and English.” Out of this year’s class of 46 seniors, only six have a standard seven-period school day. “I don’t want to tell you things are bad, but that is reality,” he said. If seventh- and eighth-graders moved to the high school, that would add 108 students to the hallways. And since they would run on the same bell schedule, those junior high students would get a seventh period, compared to their six-period day at Coquille Valley Middle School. This expanded schedule would give junior high students more opportunities for electives, he said, including shop, art, health or music. High school junior Caitlin Ford worried that while this shift would give more opportunities to seventh- and eighthgraders, it would also take away from sixth-graders, who would move to a more traditional elementary school. “They’re bound to lose out on some things they’ve had in the past,” said Coquille Valley Principal Geoff Wetherell. SEE COQUILLE | A8
Ken Hollembaek, job supervisor with Ram Jack, climbs out from under the Chandler Building, which was raised with a hydraulic jack about 8 inches over the weekend. The building’s northwest corner has been sinking for several years.
Oregonians rush to arm themselves with handguns
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Chandler at its level best BY TIM NOVOTNY The World
COOS BAY — Except for the 11 Ram Jack workers who were sweating through the final lift, the actual hoisting of the Chandler Building over the weekend was anti-climactic. Ram Jack of Oregon had been working on raising the historic structure in downtown Coos Bay for more than a month. On Saturday, with almost double their usual crew on hand, they commenced the hydraulic process of boosting
Glenn Moen, Coos Bay Donna Sturdivan, Coos Bay Gayle Bultmann, North Bend Michael Erdman, North Bend
Obituaries | A5
the building’s sagging northwest corner. Ken Hollembaek, job supervisor, said the job started picking up steam when the company decided to go with bigger steel pilings to dig in beneath the building. Resembling giant screws, the pilings, also called helicals, had originally gone down more than 100 feet as they were looking for some solid footing for the building. That was deeper than they wanted to go, so a change was made. “We switched up to a bigger helical, with a 14-inch dish, so now
Can’t we all just get along? The CEO of Starbucks wants to set a good example for Congress, so see what his next promotion is.
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FORECAST
SEE HANDGUNS | A8
By Alysha Beck, The World
NATION
Oregon, like Washington and Idaho, is a “shall-issue” state, meaning the law requires authorities to issue a license unless the applicants are disqualified for criminal records, mental illness or drug use. California, by contrast, is a “may-issue” state, where applicants must make a persuasive case before authorities will issue a license. The difference is dramatic, with about one in every 550 California adults holding concealed-carry weapons licenses. Reasons for obtaining a concealed handgun license vary, but personal safety is at the top of the list. “I regard carrying a defensive weapon to be cheap insurance in the category of seat belts, life jackets and bike helmets,” said retired airline pilot Eric Rush, 71, of Hebo. “I try to avoid situations in which I might need to use any of those.” According to Oregon State
DEATHS
INSIDE
PORTLAND (AP) — The number of concealed handgun licenses has jumped by more than 20 percent in Oregon during the first six months of this year. Just over 200,000 Oregonians had a license as of July 10, up from 163,000 at the end of 2012, The Oregonian newspaper reported. About one in 15 adults in Oregon is licensed to carry a concealed handgun — up from one in 22 adults in 2010. The increase followed the Dec. 11 shooting at Clackamas Town Center, which left two shoppers dead and one wounded, and the massacre that occurred three days later at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school. Though the shootings started a nationwide push for stricter gun control, they also sparked a rush to buy guns before more restrictive laws might be passed. In December, the number of FBI background checks for gun purchases through federally licensed dealers soared by 39 percent.
they locked-up with the 35-foot level that we (originally) anticipated,” Hollembaek said, as he toured the northwest corner crawl space on Tuesday. Once the 21 separate helicals locked-up at that depth the work of boosting the building could start. But it was no piece of cake, taking almost a day and a half to raise the corner of the building about 7 or 8 inches, with all pilings having to move at the same time and rate.
Sunny 61/46 Weather | A8
SEE CHANDLER | A8